The Muslim call to prayer from Mosques in Israel is going to be banned, an open assault on Muslim religious freedom, as the Ministerial Committee of Legislation approved the “Muezzin bill” on Sunday.
The bill prohibited the use of the loudspeaker at mosques during Muslim prayer services under the guise of “sound pollution”.
Arab lawmakers in the Israeli parliament said the legislation was discriminatory against Muslims living in the country.
The bill would have to pass several readings in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, to become law, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the draft bill.
Knesset Member Ayman Odeh, chairman of the Joint Arab List, called the bill "another law in a series of racist and populist laws that only aim to create an atmosphere of hatred and incitement against the Arab public."
The Joint List also condemned Netanyahu's remarks, commenting the Muslim call for prayer as a “noise”.
MK Yousef Jabareen form the Joint List also said that the step is a "declaration of war on the Arab population”.
MK Jamal Zahalka of the same party said, "It isn't the sound of the muezzin that should be silenced, but the voice of racism in the government and the Knesset."
Former Jerusalem Grand Mufti Sheikh Ekrima Sabri said at the al-Aqsa mosque, “Israel has no right to intervene with the call of the muezzin, because it is contrary to freedom of worship.”
MK Issawi Freij from the Meretz social-democratic party said the legislation reflected the ongoing anti-Muslim sentiment.
Meanwhile, MK Ayman Odeh called the bill racist and populist.
“Its whole goal is to create an atmosphere of hatred and incitement towards the Arab public,” Odeh stated, as quoted by The Jerusalem Post. “There are already noise laws that apply to mosques and it is clear that the whole purpose of the bill is to label mosques as problematic. It is a clear harm to freedom of religion for Muslims and the continuation of the persecution led by the prime minister."
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas also called the legislation “dangerous” for the future of peace and stability, warning against the reflections of the bill.
In a released statement, Hamas said the draft bill was against the freedom of religious rights as well as the international law to protect historical rights and holiness.
It called on the international community and human rights organizations to take initiatives to stop attacks against mosques and violations of basic human rights.
